SRCD Black Caucus: Pre-Conferences
As the 2005 biennial meeting of SRCD celebrates its 72nd anniversary, the
Black Caucus’ Pre-Conference also has an historical focus. Since the beginning
of the new millennium, the Pre-Conference has re-affirmed its commitment to
rigorous research on African American children and families. The theme of the
current (ninth) Pre-Conference is: “Black Children’s Socialization Contexts:
Change, Challenge, and Competence.” In 2003, as we moved forward in the new
millennium, the Pre-Conference engaged in a retrospective and prospective
examination of the issues facing black children, captured in the Pre-Conference
title, “Where We’ve Been and
Where We’re Going: A History of Research on Black Children.” As we welcomed the
new millennium, we urgently needed to take up issues of achievement facing
African American children and parents in the 21st century. Thus, the theme for
the seventh Pre-Conference was: High Stakes Testing, Accountability, and
Achievement of African American Children: Figuring Out What
Works And Why.” In 1999, as we stood at the brink of the new millennium
the theme of the sixth Pre-Conference was: “Charting the Course for the Next
Millennium: Identifying Paths Across the Globe.”
In 1997, the Black Caucus marked its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration at
the SRCD biennial meeting in
Conference, held in Kansas City, MO in 1989, when the theme of the
Pre-Conference was: “Raising the Next Generation of Black Children: Our Roles
and Our Goals.” The subsequent Pre-Conference, held in